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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28851213">comfort</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety Attacks, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Men Crying, Not Beta Read, Platonic Cuddling, Sharing a Bed, Touch-Starved, We die like DreamSMP pets, but i wrote it as platonic haha, can be read as platonic or romantic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:22:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,207</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28851213</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dream looked through the replies that flooded in. Some support, saying it was insane he still had to clarify the situation. Others, less eloquently just stating he cheated. Others criticizing the newly released document, saying how significant a change it was from his original video. No longer did Dream have a viable response. He was left sinking.<br/>-----<br/>Basically, when Dream issued his last speedrun tweet thread, Sapnap comforted him bc he was stressed. Lots of cuddling and comfort. Can be read as platonic or romantic.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream &amp; Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>229</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>comfort</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is super self-indulgent ahhh it's just meant to be fluffy, I wrote this cause of like two weeks ago when Dream had put out a bunch of stuff on Twitter all at once about being doxxed and also the speedrunning response, I just pictured it in my head being super stressful and him probably getting some TLC from Sap :(((</p>
<p>Includes: semi-detailed descriptions of an anxiety attack</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Ping</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The light of his phone going off drew Dream’s attention away from the edge of his desk he had been staring at intently for the past ten minutes. He was completely zoned out, swiveling back and forth in his chair and waiting on different notifications to all flood in at once.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked. The Gmail application along with a lengthy looking email was waiting for him. He used face ID to unlock his phone and let his eyes half-read the paragraphs in front of him. Attached was the document from his astrophysicist, the word held heavy over his shoulders. He wanted to issue a reply to the moderators after Dream’s video. A reply that was, in nature, damning to Dream.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes fluttered as anxiety built up in his chest and began to consume his ribs and muscle. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The most likely cause for these extreme odds remained that the game was modded</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He felt his stomach churn. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Intentionally or unintentionally</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He threw his phone on the desk for a brief moment. In layman’s terms: he had to publish this, this document that basically confirmed all of the mod team’s corrections and disbelief and that barred him from the community he cared about. He knew in his own goddamn head he had no mods installed when he submitted his run… He doesn’t even own a mod on his computer that could have altered drop rates. What haunted him, and had been consuming most of the silent gaps in his days had been the last line. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Intentionally or unintentionally</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Unintentionally.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream considered himself to be observant. He wanted to believe he caught onto things that other people would normally miss or overlook. But, then again, sometimes those painfully obvious ones slipped by him. Unmuting his mic during JackBox streams, escaping fateful TNT explosions during lore streams, keeping his door unlocked while on call with Sapnap and George with his family over… Shit that was simple managed to slip by him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Would he have really been dumb enough to look over a modded game to alter the piglin drops?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Exhaustion took over his body. He resumed with the email on his phone, going to his computer now and typing out a brief response. Without a thought, he separated it into 140 character sections and posted it all at once to his alt twitter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could hear rustling from the other part of the house. Since he had moved in, Sapnap and he had been existing in somewhat separate spheres of the house. They saw each other vastly more than they did when they had only been online friends, but still less so than most friends who were roommates probably would. It was mostly due to them already spending so much time glued to their computers, which were in completely separate parts of the rental house to avoid echo.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream looked through the replies that flooded in. Some support, saying it was insane he still had to clarify the situation. Others, less eloquently just stating he cheated. Others criticizing the newly released document, saying how significant a change it was from his original video. No longer did Dream have a viable response. He was left sinking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took a glance at his door, slightly ajar so Patches could enter as she pleased in between streaming or filming anything. With Sapnap being in here, it felt a little more lively and safe in Dream’s life than it had before. Sure, he was being completely overwhelmed with Twitter dramas and people messaging him and bringing up things constantly that he had to address, more so in the past week than he could’ve ever expected, but having Sapnap there made something fundamentally different somehow. They’d gotten into a cycle of morning talks, where they would sit at the kitchen counter and talk about anything they needed to, before separating again into their respective rooms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was unusual for Dream and Sapnap to see each other outside of organized things like going to Dream’s Mom’s place or watching football on the TV. They couldn’t go out in public, because Sapnap was recognizable and Dream, obviously, was not. It kept them forced indoors to some extent, and their lives were nearly unchanged to the cycle that it had been before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This is why the longing Dream felt in every muscle of his being was so unusual. He hadn’t ever felt like this in his memory, the draw to stand and rush over to Sapnap’s room. It was more than likely the present anxiety that clouded his perception and ability to read the social acceptability of the situation, but even his awareness of this fact didn’t deter the comforting presence that was only a few staircases away from him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream glanced once again at his monitor. The tweet thread was opened, and he flipped through the replies to see completely mixed opinions. Even people defending him seemed to be protecting his character, rather than saying outright he didn’t cheat, which managed to hurt even worse in his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling suffocated between the present drama and that of yesterday, with being doxxed and reopening past wounds, Dream stood from his gaming chair and approached his door. He was taking down a plate that had been in his room from lunch (well, the meal at 4 pm, at least). Once he got to the kitchen then… He would decide from there what he was going to do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream cleaned off the plate and placed it into the sink for future Dream or Sapnap to deal with. Then, he turned to face Sapnap’s room. It was on the first floor, tucked behind their living room. The door was also cracked open, most likely in an attempt to get Patches into his room to get closer with her. Dream grinned a little, thinking about how the normally sweet and cuddly cat seemed to have some sort of natural repulsion to Sapnap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally concluding that he was just going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck it</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Dream approached Sapnap’s door and creaked it open. Sapnap was lying on his bed, sitting up, browsing something on his phone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dream?” he asked suddenly, jumping from the door suddenly opening.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream was unexpectedly silent. Words died on his tongue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sapnap also paused, seeing the expression of concern and then deep worry pass over his friend’s usually expressionless face. Then, Sapnap shifted over on his full-sized bed, patting the spot next to him in a kind of gentle way, as if he was avoiding pushing Dream too far. They’d only been together for about two weeks, and they hadn’t yet become comfortable enough around each other to really initiate situations that required closeness and intimacy that hadn’t been formed over their years of knowing each other because of the barriers of their virtual relationship.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His natural desire for closeness outweighing the logical part of his brain, Dream made his way over to the bedside and sat facing away from Sapnap who he knew was peering at the other. They sometimes got caught in moments like these, though normally in the mornings and not late at night, where Sapnap would just stare at Dream as if he was making up for lost time of never getting to see his friend when they spoke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” Sapnap tried again, gently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took a second for Dream’s brain fog to clear enough to really grasp the question, and another few seconds to come up with an answer. The speedrunning, Twitter, the doxxing, the community, the SMP, and a million other things lit up in his mind. No words would come to explain what he wanted to say to Sapnap. Instead, his stress manifested physically as tears pricking at the corners of each eye, and his nose suddenly stung with the feeling of oncoming tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s all too much,” was all he managed to choke out. Then, a tear fell. He dodged away from whatever amount of his face Sapnap could see, making himself face the direct opposite wall and sniffle while he was sat still, not wiping away the tears in fear of Sapnap noticing. Though, of course, Sapnap had already noticed from the way Dream’s voice shook and broke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The younger became immediately attentive, sitting up even more on the bed and reaching out slowly to Dream’s turned form. It was scary and new between the two of them, but Dream had to stop himself from leaning back instantly to connect with Sapnap’s hand and cling onto him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sapnap began to coo lightly, no longer talking to Dream as he normally did, but speaking in a much softer tone. It was how Dream imagined he would sound talking to a small animal or a baby, saying, “Hey, hey, no, it’s alright.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>More tears fell down Dream’s face as he shook his head. He finally had enough thought to turn around and face Sapnap, swinging his legs up onto the bed in the process and turning only so Sapnap would be able to see his side profile. But, it was enough to illuminate distinct tears running down his face in the dim light of his room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nick…” His voice broke. “Can I stay here for a little?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sapnap sat up to be side by side with Dream. “Yeah, of course, as long as you want.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few beats passed between them. The ceiling fan was on, whirring quietly as Dream sat slouched on the bed, tears continuing to appear on his cheeks. Meanwhile, Sapnap sat up, staring at his friend who remained obscured by the angle, and rubbed the fabric of his blanket absently. His hand was inches from Dream.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wordlessly, Dream turned again, this time to face the center of the bed. It revealed both cheeks being wet and rosy with sadness. Sapnap’s heart nearly broke seeing the one person who was usually so bright and happy in this state. It wasn’t really a first, but seeing it in person still broke his heart apart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream leaned forward, without explanation his head found its way into the crook of Sapnap’s neck. They were sort of hugging, though Dream’s arms stayed limp in his lap as Sapnap took the cue to reach up and wrap himself around Dream’s form. For a few seconds, all Dream could think was about Sapnap--the feeling of his arms, and his hands, and how good he smelled from this angle. All he could feel was warmth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, another wave of anxiety washed over him. Flashes in his brain erupted with images of ender pearls and long emails and contracts… He was painfully aware of himself and his persona. He wished his mind could separate from his body and all he would be able to feel would be Sapnap’s comfort.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A broken sob escaped his mouth. Sapnap shushed him tenderly in response, repositioning them so they were partially laying down on the bed now, with Dream’s head hidden in Sapnap’s shoulder and Sapnap clinging to Dream as tightly as he could. His soft hands found their way to Dream’s neglected hair and began gently untangling the knots at the root.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stayed like that for a long time. Dream crying and occasionally blubbering nonsense into Sapnap and the other holding him, trying to press love into every inch of Dream enough to comfort him. Sapnap was Dream’s comfort person, there was no doubt about it. The realization made Sapnap grin a little bit into the golden brown locks of Dream’s hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you so much, Clay,” Sapnap whispered once Dream’s cries had broken up ever so slightly. His words were heavy and meaningful, but there was a mutual understanding of their platonic nature. They were comforting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream hummed in response, it came out more like a small whimper. It nearly broke Sapnap apart to hear the weak noise emitted by the other. Despite the height and general difference between the two’s builds, Dream seemed so small. He was in the fetal position, curled against Sapnap, entirely defeated by the cruelty of the day. The brunette was the only one anchoring him back to reality, through soft touches and whispers of affection.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes stung, and he felt a headache coming on from the force at which his sobs escaped him. Sapnap continued to pet Dream’s back and hair softly. Each touch elicited a small, unconscious noise out of the Floridian, who felt completely out of his own mind. All he could cling to was Sapnap’s warm torso and hide into the pillows. Sapnap seemed completely content to stay and comfort Dream as long as was needed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream’s eyes became heavy, and he could feel his entire body begin to suffer from exhaustion. Somewhere, deep in the catacombs of his hyperactive mind, he could hear a part of himself muttering to get up and leave Sapnap’s bed before he fell asleep, that it would be impossible to navigate the situation the next morning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other part of his brain was simply submitting to Sapnap’s comfort and was wholly unaware of the consequences that may lie ahead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream drifted into a light sleep with Sapnap tracing heart shapes into his upper back between his shoulder blades. His dreams were blissfully empty.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope that was alright! It was meant to be a somewhat short and sweet one-shot, but I realize I went a little overboard with the descriptions and stuff so it's kind of a normal fic-length. Hope it was good nonetheless!! Lmk in comments if you have any other mcyt ideas, also if you'd be interested in checking it out I wrote another fluffy Dreamnap comfort fic a long time ago, linked hereee: <br/>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26688568</p></blockquote></div></div>
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